AD's Top Tips for Designing an Eco-Friendly Kitchen

Create Light Zones

It is very rare that your whole kitchen needs to be illuminated the same way at the same time. So turn off task lighting as you finish chores. Creating zones also allows you to highlight certain areas and "low light” others when you are entertaining. And when you are planning your lighting design, check out compact fluorescent bulbs or LED lighting for a low-impact choice.

GE Reveal LED bulb, life of 13.7 years, uses 80% less energy than incandescent bulbs, $20; homedepot.com, 800-466-3337

Photo courtesy of GE

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CHOOSE ECO-FRIENDLY FLOORING

Did you know that bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants on earth? Or that cork can be harvested from a healthy living tree? There is a wealth of beautiful green flooring options on the market, including sustainably produced porcelain, ceramic, glass, copper, zinc, and even rubber.

WASH SMART

Only run your dishwasher when it's full, and only scrape—don't rinse—your dishes before you load them in. Pre-rinsing is unnecessary with today's ultrapowerful models and wastes water. And read the detergent box: Most will tell you not to fill the soap container all the way, and using too much detergent will shorten the life of your appliance.

GET A WATER FILTER

Switching to a home water-filtration system is one of the simplest—and most impactful—ways to help the environment. After all, more than 1.5 million tons of plastic water bottles end up in landfills each year.

Kohler Wellspring brass beverage faucet, available in a variety of finishes including polished nickel (from $250), for use with K-200 Aquifer undercounter water filter ($360), us.kohler.com, 800-456-4537

Photo courtesy of Kohler

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LOW- OR NO-VOC PAINTS

Why use carbon-rich volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that readily vaporize into the air if you don't have to? Many of the most trusted names in paint now offer no- and low-VOC options of exceptional quality.